1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of material handling systems and, more particularly, to the field of lower extremity exoskeletons that are worn by their wearers and allow for carrying heavy loads in front of their wearers.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In general, it is known in the art to provide orthotic devices to aid a person in walking or carrying a load. One example, such as set forth in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0056592, provides an exoskeleton including a power unit to provide power to torque generators connecting a thigh link of the exoskeleton with a shank link of the exoskeleton. The '592 publication basically addresses providing power to a knee portion of an exoskeleton. In another example set forth in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0123997, an exoskeleton worn by a human includes a hip joint having a passive spring or an actuator to assist in lifting an exoskeleton and to propel the exoskeleton forward. The '997 publication notes that a backpack may be carried utilizing the exoskeleton, although no details regarding the backpack structure are provided. Further, the '997 publication notes that positive power from hip actuators is added at a hip during a stance phase to propel the mass of the human and the backpack forward, and to cancel the mass of the human and exoskeleton during a swing phase. Although useful to aid a user in walking or carrying a backpack, the above-references do not provide a means enabling a user to support a front load utilizing an exoskeleton to reduce the energy expended by the user. Therefore, there is seen to exist a need in the art for an exoskeleton device which provides a user with the means to manipulate a frontal payload and reduce the energy required to manipulate and transfer the payload.